DeKalb Plant Genetics: Video Transfers From 16mm Films
This VHS tape contains a variety of films that were converted to VHS from film reels. Films contained in this tape include: XL 25-A, XL 55-A, Microwave Promotion (3 Parts), Food for America,...

By: DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association (DAAHA)

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Dr. Kri Stefnsson on genetics - The New Yorker Conference
Dr. Kri Stefnsson, the founder of the biopharmaceutical company deCODE Genetics, talks with Michael Specter about his research into human genetics and its applications for drug development....

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Saving the Honeybee with Genetics and Beekeeping
The disappearance of honeybees continues to make headlines in the news and science journals, but are their numbers still dwindling, and if so, what are the causes? Dr. Jack Bishop, a researcher...

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Ashley Saulsberry: Speciation Genetics in Nasonia
(Note: Volume needs to be turned up) Vanderbilt University undergraduate and Littlejohn Summer Research Scholar Ashley Saulsberry discusses her thesis work on the origin of species. In the...

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Let #39;s Play The Sims 3 - Perfect Genetics Challenge: Cowgirl and Horse Edition Episode 27
Come join me on my latest journey into the complex world of sims 3 genetics, as I try to get perfect foals and perfect children. Will I succeed in getting perfect genetics in both? Can I keep...

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Let's Play The Sims 3 - Perfect Genetics Challenge: Cowgirl and Horse Edition Episode 27 - Video

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New Gene Therapy Procedure Could Allow Own Cells To Act As Pacemakers
Implantable electronic pacemakers are some of the most common heart procedures done every year. But what if doctors could turn your own cells into pacemakers...

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Jul-2014

Contact: Byron Spice bspice@cs.cmu.edu 412-268-9068 Carnegie Mellon University

PITTSBURGHComputer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, working with high-throughput data generated by breast cancer biologists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, have devised a computational method to determine how gene networks are rewired as normal breast cells turn malignant and as they respond to potential cancer therapy agents.

This method for analyzing how genes interact with each other in laboratory-grown cells is described in a report published today by the online journal PLOS Computational Biology.

The method could provide new insights into cancer and identify the most promising molecular targets for drug therapy. In their study, for instance, the researchers were able to show how changes in these gene networks led breast cancer cells to develop resistance to several different agents being evaluated as drugs for targeted therapy.

"With our system, pharmaceutical developers wouldn't need to go to expensive clinical trials to discover that a drug isn't going to work," said Wei Wu, associate research professor in CMU's Lane Center for Computational Biology. "It could save them a tremendous amount of money and a tremendous amount of time."

The approach also might be used to detect differences in gene regulation between individuals, helping physicians select which treatment will be most effective for each patient, she added.

Wu and Eric P. Xing, associate professor of machine learning, worked with Mina Bissell, a renowned breast cancer researcher at the Berkeley Lab, to investigate whether distinctly different gene regulatory networks could be identified within cells as normal cells become malignant and as the malignant cells respond to various drug treatments. The researchers studied these breast cancer cells using a 3D cell culturing technique developed by Bissell's laboratory.

These networks can be inferred based on microarrays, which measure the expression levels of tens of thousands of genes in a cell. But the number of microarrays that investigators can afford to run for each cell state normal cells, malignant cells and malignant cells that have reverted to normal-looking cells that also are organized normally is limited. So researchers often pool microarray data from several cell states in hopes of gaining enough samples to draw solid conclusions about networks, Wu said.

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Gene changes in breast cancer cells pinpointed with new computational method

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Surgeons at the University Hospital Southampton have designed the new procedure to coat damaged cartilage with stem cells taken from the hip If successful, it will regenerate the remaining tissue, creating a permanent 'like-for-like' replacement for the first time Cartilage is a tough tissue covering the surface of joints and enables bones to slide over one another, reducing friction and acting as a shock absorber

By Lizzie Parry

Published: 07:05 EST, 23 July 2014 | Updated: 07:21 EST, 23 July 2014

Surgeons have designed a new operation which they hope could prevent the development of arthritis and extend sporting careers.

The procedure, which is currently being trialled at Southampton General Hospital, involves coating damaged cartilage with stem cells, taken from a patients own hip, and surgical glue.

If successful, it will regenerate the remaining tissue and create a permanent 'like-for-like' replacement for the first time.

Surgeons at University Hospital Southampton have pioneered a new operation to treat knee injuries, which they hope will extend sporting careers. Argentinian striker Luis Suarez had an operation to remove his damaged meniscus, part of the cartilage in the knee, prior to the World Cup

Cartilage is a tough, flexible tissue that covers the surface of joints and enables bones to slide over one another while reducing friction and acting as a shock absorber.

Damage to the tissue in the knee is common and occurs mainly following sudden twists or direct blows, such as falls or heavy tackles playing sports such as football and rugby, but can also develop over time through gradual wear and tear.

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New knee op using stem cells could stop arthritis and extend sporting careers

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Inference in Personalized Medicine Models
student seminar, April, 2014.

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21st Century Cures Roundtable on Personalized Medicine
Learn more here: http://1.usa.gov/1nRZvAb.

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Monthly financial statements
Paul describes what you need to be ware of when submitting your monthly reports.

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Monthly financial statements - Video

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Hip Pain and Regenerative Medicine
Hip pain that won #39;t go away Dr. Lox | http://www.drlox.com | Call (844) 440-8503 Hip Pain that won #39;t go away often involves consultations with multiple specialists....

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Patients' virus levels became undetectable after a bone-marrow therapy with stem cells

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a lymphocyte with HIV cluster. Credit: National Cancer Institute via Wikimedia Commons

Scientists have uncovered two new cases of HIV patients in whom the virus has become undetectable.

The two patients, both Australian men, became apparently HIV-free after receiving stem cells to treat cancer. They are still on antiretroviral therapy (ART) as a precaution, but those drugs alone could not be responsible for bringing the virus to such low levels, says David Cooper, director of the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, who led the discovery. A year ago, a different group of researchers had reported cases with a similar outcome.

Cooper presented details of the cases today at a press briefing in Melbourne, Australia, where delegates are convening for next week's 20th International AIDS Conference. The announcement came just a day after the news that at least six people heading to the conference died when aMalaysia Airlines flight was shot down in Ukraine.

Cooper began searching for patients who had been purged of the HIV virus after attending a presentation by a US team last year at a conference of the International AIDS Society in Kuala Lumpur. At that meeting, researchers from Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, reported that two patients who had received stem-cell transplants were virus-free.

Cooper and his collaborators scanned the archives of St Vincents hospital in Sydney, one of the largest bone-marrow centres in Australia. We went back and looked whether we had transplanted [on] any HIV-positive patients, and found these two, says Cooper.

The first patient had received a bone-marrow transplant for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011. His replacement stem cells came from a donor who carried one copy of a gene thought to afford protection against the virus. The other had been treated for leukaemia in 2012.

Unfortunately, several months after the 'Boston' patients stopped taking ART,the virus returned. An infant born with HIV in Mississippi who received antiretroviral therapy soon after birth, then stopped it for more than three years,was thought to have been cured, buthas had the virus rebound, too.

Natural resistance At the moment, there is only one person in the world who is still considered cured of HIV:Timothy Ray Brown, the 'Berlin patient', who received a bone-marrow transplant and has had no signs of the virus in his blood for six years without ART. The bone marrow received by the Berlin patient came from a donor who happened to have a natural genetic resistance to his strain of HIV.

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HIV Cleared in 2 Patients via Cancer Treatment

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Surgeons have pioneered a new knee operation that could prevent the development of arthritis and extend sporting careers.

The procedure, which is currently being trialled at Southampton General Hospital, involves coating damaged cartilage with stem cells, taken from a patient's own hip, and surgical glue.

Known as Abicus (Autologous Bone Marrow Implantation of Cells University Hospital Southampton), the technique, if successful, will regenerate the remaining tissue and create a permanent "like-for-like" replacement for the first time.

Cartilage is a tough, flexible tissue that covers the surface of joints and enables bones to slide over one another while reducing friction and acting as a shock absorber.

Damage to the tissue in the knee is common and occurs mainly following sudden twists or direct blows, such as falls or heavy tackles playing sports such as football and rugby, but can also develop over time through gradual wear and tear.

Around 10,000 people a year in the UK suffer cartilage damage serious enough to require treatment due to pain, "locking" and reduced flexibility. If left untreated, it can progress to arthritis and severely impair leg movement.

Currently, the most commonly used procedure to repair the injury - microfracture - involves trimming any remaining damaged tissue and drilling holes in the bone beneath the defect via keyhole surgery to promote bleeding and scar tissue to work as a substitute.

However, the technique has variable results, with studies in the US suggesting the procedure offers only a short term benefit (the first 24 months after surgery), and does not lead to the formation of new cartilage.

Patients who undergo the Abicus operation have the cartilage cut and tidied and undergo microfracture, but their cartilage tissue is then coated with a substance made up of bone marrow cells, platelet gel and hyaluronic acid.

During the 30-minute procedure, the bone marrow sample is spun in a centrifuge in the operating theatre to give a concentrated amount of the patient's own stem cells.

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High hopes for new knee operation

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Scientists have discovered a new way to make human platelets, which could help patients worldwide who need blood transfusions.

Platelets are the cells we use to form blood clots. They're traditionally created in our bone marrow. But scientists are now using a machine called a platelet bioreactoralong with human stem cells to create platelets outside the human body.(ViaYouTube / ThrombosisAdviser,American Society of Hematology)

Essentially, this"next-generation"device asBoston Magazinecalls it features the same characteristics asbone marrow. The crucial difference: It's able to carry out a reaction on an industrial scale.

An author of the study said in a press release published byHealthDay,"The ability to generate an alternative source of functional human platelets with virtually no disease transmission represents a paradigm shift in how we collect platelets that may allow us to meet the growing need for blood transfusions."

Brigham and Women's Hospital reports more than 2 million donor platelet units are transfused each year in the U.S. to help patients in need.

That includestrauma patients and those undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplants and surgery. (Getty Images)

But platelet shortages are common due to increased demand, a short shelflife and the possibility of contamination, rejection and infection. (Getty Images)

The problem lab-created platelets have runinto in the past istime: Growing new platelets took too long.

A doctor not associated with this researchsaid,"This study addresses that gap, while contributing to our understanding of platelet biology at the same time."(ViaHealthDay /Brigham and Women's Hospital)

Butthe rules are tough on blood products, so the platelets will undergo safety tests over the next three years. Clinical human trials likely won't start until 2017. (Getty Images)

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Scientists have already successfully coaxed stem cells into becoming red blood cells, which could be used to create "man-made" blood for transfusion. Red blood cells, however, aren't the only component of human blood. Now, researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Womens Hospital have also created functional human platelets, using a bioreactor that simulates the medium in which blood cells are naturally produced bone marrow.

The main role of platelets (also known as thrombocytes) is to stop wounds from bleeding, by essentially "plugging the hole" in the skin with a clot. Without sufficient numbers of them in the blood, spontaneous and excessive bleeding can occur. Such shortages can be caused by diseases, as a result of undergoing chemotherapy, or by other factors. In these situations, transfusions of platelets harvested from donated blood are often necessary.

In previous studies, scientists have successfully gotten induced pluripotent stem cells to change into megakaryocytes these are the cells that ordinarily sit in the bone marrow and release platelets into the bloodstream. Unfortunately, it's proven difficult to get those lab-grown megakaryocytes to produce platelets outside of the body.

That's where Brigham and Womens new "bioreactor-on-a-chip" comes into the picture. By mimicking bone marrow's extracellular matrix composition, stiffness, micro-channel size and shear forces, it persuades the megakaryocytes to produce anywhere from 10 to 90 percent more platelets than was previously possible.

It is hoped that once the technology is scaled up, platelets made with it could be used to address shortages of donated natural platelets, and to minimize the risk of diseases being transmitted between donors and recipients. Human clinical trials are planned to begin in 2017.

The research was led by Dr. Jonathan Thon, and is described in a paper recently published in the journal Blood.

Source: Brigham and Womens Hospital

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Human blood platelets grown in bone marrow-replicating bioreactor

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -

Cheri Kovacsev's face is dripping with blood, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm hoping to achieve smaller pores, [and] the fine lines around my lips to improve over this process," Kovacsev said.

Licensed paramedical aesthetician Amaris Centofanti performs rejuvapen micro-needling.

"After you are done with the treatment, collagen elastin kicks in to heal the skin, so in a few days, your skin starts to look more flawless," Centofanti said.

People like the professor of dermatology, Dr. James Spencer, however, aren't sold on micro-needling, which costs about $350 a pop.

"There was just a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology, JAMA Dermatology, last month, of three cases of allergy to the medication to the serum that was put on after micro-needling," Spencer said.

Some other extreme beauty treatments include the bee venom facial. The theory is the venom tightens skin by pumping up collagen. It costs about $130.

Then there is the vampire face-lift, which costs about $600 to $800. For this treatment, plasma is taken from your blood and injected back into your skin.

The placenta facial uses stem cells from a sheeps placenta to boost collagen.

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Health Beat: Extreme skin

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Jul-2014

Contact: David McKeon dmckeon@nyscf.org 212-365-7440 New York Stem Cell Foundation

NEW YORK, NY -- The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) and Beyond Batten Disease Foundation (BBDF) have partnered to develop stem cell resources to investigate and explore new treatments and ultimately find a cure for juvenile Batten disease, a fatal illness affecting children.

NYSCF scientists will create induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines from skin samples of young people affected by juvenile Batten disease as well as unaffected family members. IPS cell lines are produced by artificially "turning back the clock" on skin cells to a time when they were embryonic-like and capable of becoming any cell in the body. Reprogramming juvenile Batten iPS cells to become brain and heart cells will provide the infrastructure needed to investigate what is going wrong with the cells adversely affected by the disease. Thus far, efforts to study juvenile Batten disease have been done using rodent models or human skin cells, neither of which accurately mimic the disease in the brain, leaving researchers without proper tools to study the disease or a solid platform for testing drugs that prevent, halt, or reverse its progression. This will be the largest and first genetically diverse collection of human iPS cells for a pediatric brain disease.

In addition to working with BBDF to actively recruit patients and families to donate skin samples, Batten Disease Support and Research Association (BDSRA) is providing resources and technical support, spreading awareness among academic scientists, and notifying its Pharmaceutical partners. Together, BBDF and BDSRA will ensure that juvenile Batten disease and other researchers are aware of and utilize the 48 stem cell lines resulting from this collaboration to further juvenile Batten disease research worldwide.

"We know the genetic mutations associated with juvenile Batten disease. This partnership will result in stem cell models of juvenile Batten, giving researchers an unprecedented look at how the disease develops, speeding research towards a cure," said Susan L. Solomon, NYSCF Chief Executive Officer.

"Working with NYSCF to generate functional neuronal subtypes from patients and families is a stellar example of one of our key strategies in the fight against juvenile Batten disease: creating resource technology with the potential to transform juvenile Batten disease research and accelerate our timeline to a cure," said Danielle M. Kerkovich, PhD, BBDF Principal Scientist.

Juvenile Batten disease begins in early childhood between the ages of five and ten. Initial symptoms typically begin with progressive vision loss, followed by personality changes, behavioral problems, and slowed learning. These symptoms are followed by a progressive loss of motor functions, eventually resulting in wheelchair use and premature death. Seizures and psychiatric symptoms can develop at any point in the disease.

Juvenile Batten disease is one disorder in a group of rare, fatal, inherited disorders known as Batten disease. Over 40 different errors (mutations) in the CLN3 segment of DNA (gene) have been attributed to juvenile Batten disease. The pathological hallmark of juvenile Batten is a buildup of lipopigment in the body's tissues. It is not known why lipopigment accumulates or why brain and eventually, heart cells are selectively damaged. It is, however, clear that we need disease-specific tools that reflect human disease in order to figure this out and to build therapy.

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NYSCF partners with Beyond Batten Disease Foundation to fight juvenile Batten disease

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Sarah Palin Claims God Wants President Obama Impeached
Sarah Palin claims that God wants Obama to be impeached http://www.politicususa.com/2014/07/20/sarah-palin-claims-god-president-obama-impeached.html --On the Bonus Show: A Russian man beats...

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When it comes to heart disease, Dr. Ross Feldman says women are often in the dark. Historically, it was thought that heart disease was a men's-only disease, however, data has shown that post-menopausal women are just as likely as men to get heart disease and are less likely to be adequately diagnosed and treated. New research from Western University published online this week in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology brings to light a genetic basis for heart disease in women and helps to identify which women are more prone to heart disease.

The study, led by Dr. Feldman, a clinical pharmacologist at London Health Sciences Centre and a researcher at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Robarts Research Institute, identifies a common gene variant in women for the G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 30 (GPER) that makes them significantly more likely to have high blood pressure, the single biggest risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

GPER, when functioning normally, is activated in part by the hormone estrogen and has been previously shown to relax the blood vessels, and in turn, lower blood pressure. This new study demonstrates that many women have a less functional form of GPER, increasing their risk of developing high blood pressure.

The research looked at the effect of expression of the GPER gene variant versus the normal GPER gene in the vascular smooth muscle cells as well as its association with blood pressure in humans. It also looked at the frequency of the gene variant in a group of women referred a tertiary care clinic at London Health Sciences Centre. The study found that women, but not men, carrying the GPER gene variant had higher blood pressure, and almost half of women who attended a hard-to-treat blood pressure clinic, where Dr. Feldman is a physician, expressed the variant. Twice as many women than men with hard to treat hypertension carried the gene.

"This is one step in understanding the effects of estrogen on heart disease, and understanding why some women are more prone to heart attack and stroke than others," Dr. Feldman said. "Our work is a step forward in developing approaches to treating heart disease in this under-appreciated group of patients."

A video of Dr. Feldman discussing the research can be found at http://youtu.be/uK2-t7D1JMc

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Western Ontario. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Gene variant identified as heart disease risk factor for women

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What will happen in the field of serious mental illness when human need, scientific progress and a major influx of funding converge? Scientists on Tuesday predicted that the world could see the same kind of progress in understanding schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that's been seen in the last decade in the fight against cancer.

That, in turn, could lead to better treatments, earlier diagnosis and more opportunities to head off the emergence of full-blown psychological illness in those at greatest risk.

Such a path forward became evident Tuesday with two new developments: the publication of a scientific article identifying 108 locations on the human genome associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia -- the largest-ever genome-association study focused on mental illness -- and the announcement of a philanthropist's $650-million commitment to fuel the search for mental illnesses' biological underpinnings.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Tuesday, Eric S. Lander, the founder and president of the Broad Institute, announced that collectibles entrepreneur Ted Stanley had made the record-setting funding commitment. Moved to action by a son's diagnosis of bipolar disorder, the 83-year-old Stanley has promised, now and after his death, to underwrite a vastly expanded hunt for the genetic contributions to and the molecular processes at work insevere mental illness.

The article on the genetic variations seen in schizophrenia was published Monday by the journal Nature. The findings were drawn from the genetic data of about 37,000 people.

That new research came as advances in genetic sequencing are promising to unlock the mysteries of genes' roles in complex chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and depression. While the roots of "Mendelian" genetic disorders such as Huntington's disease and polycystic kidney disease can be traced to a single gene defect, illnesses such as schizophrenia are likely to spring from many genetic variations, interacting with one another and the environment.

Uncovering the genetic contributions to mental illness, therefore, will be a far more difficult task. To glean patterns from large-population studies, researchers will need newly available techniques to analyze whole genomes and to process massive amounts of data fast and cheaply. Making the task more difficult: Genetic variations very likely interact with such factors as poor parenting, childhood trauma and adolescent substance abuse to produce full-blown psychiatric disease.

Over the last decade, the combination of major research funding and advances in genomic understanding have begun to shed new light on the molecular processes that allow cancers to gain a foothold, and that has led to better, more targeted cancer treatments.

Backed by a full cast of pioneers in genetic research, Lander said, it may take a decade or more but that Stanley's funding for research on psychiatric disease could do the same for illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

"We're poised for real advances here," said National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins in a taped tribute shown Tuesday. "We're not just going to wring our hands here. We're going to do something."

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New funds jump-start mental illness research

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY -- The potential for clinical use of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology for transplant-based therapeutic strategies has previously been hindered by the risk of dysregulated cell growth, specifically the development of tumors. The ability to use etoposide treatment to halt teratoma formation in iPSCs for the treatment of heart disease, specifically acute myocardial infarction, is demonstrated in an article in Stem Cells and Development, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Stem Cells and Development website.

In the article 'Inhibition of DNA topoisomerase II selectively reduces the threat of tumorigenicity following induced pluripotent stem cell-based myocardial therapy' Saranya Wyles, Andre Terzic, Timothy Nelson, and coauthors, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), discovered a strategy that alone or in conjunction with other methods could significantly reduce the risk of a tumorigenic event occurring. Their work demonstrates how pretreatment with genotoxic etoposide significantly lowered the threat of abnormal growths by removing the contaminated pluripotent cells and establishing an adjunctive therapy to further harness the clinical value of iPSC-derived cardiac regeneration.

"For anyone seeking to exploit iPSC technology in a clinical setting, the Mayo Clinic has described a strategy that significantly mitigates the risk of tumor development. Furthermore, the paper provides benchmark strategies for assessing the localization and persistence of cell-based treatments in a preclinical model," says Editor-in-Chief Graham C. Parker, PhD, The Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.

###

About the Journal

Stem Cells and Development is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online. The Journal is dedicated to communication and objective analysis of developments in the biology, characteristics, and therapeutic utility of stem cells, especially those of the hematopoietic system. Complete tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Stem Cells and Development website.

About the Publisher

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New method for reducing tumorigenicity in induced pluripotent stem-cell based therapies

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY -- New guidelines on cholesterol treatment and cardiovascular risk assessment state that men have at least double the risk of dying from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or of having a heart attack or stroke as do women with a similar risk profile (based on age, smoking history, and cholesterol and blood pressure levels). The implications of this finding for when and how aggressively to treat high cholesterol are examined in an Editorial in Journal of Men's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Men's Health website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jomh.2014.1500 until August 22, 2014.

Stephen L. Kopecky, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and Ajay Nehra, MD, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, discuss the risk factors on which the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association based their new guidelines. They describe the value in developing 10-year risk and lifetime risk estimates and their use in educating patients and encouraging lifestyle changes. The authors note the omission of erectile dysfunction as a risk marker, and they explain the new cholesterol treatment recommendations in the Editorial entitled "Cardiovascular Risk and Cholesterol Management in Men: Implications of the New Guidelines."

###

About the Journal

Journal of Men's Health is the premier peer-reviewed journal published quarterly in print and online that covers all aspects of men's health across the lifespan. The Journal of Men's Health publishes cutting-edge advances in a wide range of diseases and conditions, including diagnostic procedures, therapeutic management strategies, and innovative clinical research in gender-based biology to ensure optimal patient care. The Journal of Men's Health addresses disparities in health and life expectancy between men and women; increased risk factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and obesity; higher prevalence of diseases such as heart disease and cancer; and health care in underserved and minority populations. Journal of Men's Health meets the critical imperative for improving the health of men around the globe and ensuring better patient outcomes. Tables of content and a sample issue can be viewed on the Journal of Men's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jomh.

About the Societies

Journal of Men's Health is the official journal of the International Society of Men's Health (ISMH), American Society for Men's Health, Men's Health Society of India, and Foundation for Men's Health. The ISMH is an international, multidisciplinary, worldwide organization, dedicated to the rapidly growing field of gender-specific men's health.

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Should men at risk for cardiovascular disease receive earlier cholesterol treatment?

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Listen Story audio 4min 47sec

A tour of the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, Vt., includes a stop at the "Flavor Graveyard," where ice cream combinations that didn't make the cut are put to rest under the shade of big trees.

One recently deceased flavor has yet to be memorialized there: Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, one of the company's best-sellers. Ben & Jerry's CEO Jostein Solheim says the company had to remove the key ingredient, Heath bars made by Hershey, and rework the flavor. Its replacement is called Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch. (Some fans have blasted the company in online forums, claiming it doesn't taste as good.)

The reason for the change? Hershey makes Heath bars with genetically engineered ingredients, and Ben & Jerry's has made a pledge to remove all GMO ingredients from its ice cream.

The company has taken a vocal stand in recent years in support of states looking at legislation that would require manufacturers to disclose food that is made with genetic engineering. And Vermont recently passed a law that will require labeling starting in 2015. Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield recently launched a campaign to help fill the coffers of Vermont's crowd-sourced defense fund set up to combat lawsuits over its labeling law.

The news that Ben & Jerry's is taking a stand on a controversial issue is no surprise; it's part of the company's calling card. But some other mainstream companies are carefully and much more quietly calibrating their non-GMO strategies.

General Mills' original plain Cheerios are now GMO-free, but the only announcement was in a company blog post in January. And you won't see any label on the box highlighting the change. Grape Nuts, another cereal aisle staple, made by Post, is also non-GMO. And Target has about 80 of its own brand items certified GMO-free.

Megan Westgate runs the Non-GMO Project, which acts as an independent third-party verifier of GMO-free products, including Target's. She says her organization knows about "a lot of exciting cool things that are happening that for whatever strategic reasons get kept pretty quiet."

The Non-GMO Project has certified more than 20,000 products since it launched in 2007, and Westgate says this is one of the fastest growing sectors of the natural food industry, representing $6 billion in annual sales. But just because they're testing the water doesn't mean most mainstream companies are ready to start publicizing their changes.

Nathan Hendricks, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, says big food producers are trying to gauge what direction consumers are headed in. "Ultimately," he says, "these big companies aren't just friends with Monsanto or something. They want to make a profit, and they want to be able to do what's going to make them money." So they'd better have a product line in the works if consumer sentiment starts to shift more heavily toward GMO-free food.

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Some food companies are quietly dumping GMO ingredients

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY -- Stem cells offer much promise for treating damaged organs and tissues, but with current transplantation approaches stem cell survival is poor, limiting their effectiveness. New methods are being developed and tested to improve the survival and optimize their therapeutic function after transplantation, as described in a Review article in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the BioResearch Open Access website.

In the article 'Preconditioning Stem Cells for In Vivo Delivery,' Sbastien Sart, Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France) and Teng Ma and Yan Li, Florida State University (Tallahassee) examine the leading strategies for preconditioning stem cells prior to transplantation to prepare them for the environment often found in damaged tissue. Preconditioning methods might include exposing stem cells to microenvironments characterized by reduced oxygen levels, heat shock, and oxidative stress, creating three-dimensional stem cell aggregates or microtissues, and using hydrogels in which to embed or encapsulate the cells.

"This article provides an extensive review of the current methods of stem cell preconditioning for transplantation," says BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. "It also highlights the cutting edge technologies employed to do this."

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About the Journal

BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMedCentral. All journal content is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.

About the Publisher

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Novel methods may help stem cells survive transplantation into damaged tissues

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